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Put another win in the books for the Nats! A 5-0 shutout over the Mets!

You never know what you will get in a hyped debut with a big prospect pitcher, and in this debut tonight, Lucas Giolito out-pitched Matt Harvey tonight, but also out-pitched his top-prospect peers like Urias and Tallion who debuted this season.

Giolito was throwing free and easy and you could see his stuff on display. Well painted fastballs, a swing and miss change-up and a ‘fall off the table’ curveball. Giolito only needed 45 pitches to get through 4 innings which was extremely pitch efficient as that averaged 11.25 pitches per inning. It was a joy to watch for Nats fans until the night was interrupted by the second rain delay of the night. This game would not end until after midnight in the East.

The 1-0 lead wasn’t a comfortable lead until Bryce Harper hit a 2-run HR into the Nats bullpen to make the score 3-0, and the exclamation point was from Wilson Ramos who hit a booming 2-run double off of the 402 sign in straight-away centerfield.

The Nats played great defense for Giolito, and really all night long. It was a well-played Nats game by all players. Oliver Perez came in with 1 out and bases loaded in a tight jam and struck out the first batter he faced and got the next batter out on a flyout. Here is the video. The official scorer credited Perez with the win.

This game seemed very reminiscent of Jordan Zimmerman‘s debut in rainy weather. Mother Nature has a mind of her own.

Put another #CurlyW in the books! #Nats 5, Mets 0 pic.twitter.com/ucanpSZqhL

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) June 29, 2016

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The crowd tonight totaled 33,109 fans who got to see the Nationals come from behind a 4-0 deficit to score 11 unanswered runs to beat the Mets 11-4. The Nationals got into a groove with some clutch hits and great hustle to win this game, and Ben Revere was the Igniter going 4-5 with 3 stolen bases and 3 runs scored which no other player in Nats history has amassed that combination of offensive output before. Also consider the Web Gem that Revere had to save a run in the 1st inning.

Anthony Rendon scored 2 runs tonight which meant the Nats would win as they are undefeated when Rendon scores more than 1 run in a game. Rendon’s record scoring at least 1 run is 32-7.

All Nats starters had hits tonight including Joe Ross. Speaking of Joe Ross, he bent but did not break. A 4 run deficit did not seem insurmountable and that proved out. Ross settled down after the 3rd inning and gave up no more runs. Was it a great start by Ross? No, but it’s how you persevere. The Nats hitters rallied for their young pitcher to snatch this win from the Mets. You can view the video recap here. Continue reading →

The Washington Nationals win a nail-biter at the end 3-2 after Tanner Roark pitches a 7 inning shutout. Jayson Werth was bit by the ‘sun monster’ who traveled to Milwaukee to get him and Villar got a gift wrapped triple to represent the tying run in the 9th inning with 2 outs. Shawn Kelley didn’t panic and got the save in the 3-2 win ending the losing streak at 7.

The offensive heros were Clint Robinson and Jose Lobaton who both homered. CRob’s was a 2 run HR and those RBIs turned out to be needed as the score went to 3-2.

Tanner Roark got himself in trouble a few times in the game and worked out of it. One time was due to a passed ball that put runners at 3rd and 2nd and 1 out and Roark struck out Chris Carter and Kirk Nieuwenhuis without any worries.

The Brewers starter Jimmy Nelson exited with a 5 inning no-hitter but ran his pitch count up and actually worked out of a bases loaded situation with 3 walks and Bryce Harper smashed one to the warning track in CF for a long out.

If you are someone who likes watching the standings, the Nats win and a Mets loss put the lead for the Nats in the NL East at 3.0 games. The Nats on Wednesday evening are still guaranteed to be in 1st place.

Happy flight back to D.C.!

The Nats losing streak is now at 7 in a row and the longest losing streak since 2009 for the Nats. The game seemed out of reach early as Gio Gonzalez gave up 6 runs and was pulled after the 3rd inning. Gio was fortunate when he departed at a score of 6-1 as Werth threw out Villar at home—it could have been worse. It was the 7th poor outing in a row for Gio Gonzalez (all team losses) and Gio’s ERA shot up to 4.73.

The Nationals relievers were perfect on the day after taking over for Gio Gonzalez from the 4th inning on.

The Nats offense battled all day to get back into the game, and besides the 2 hits with runners in scoring position by Wilson Ramos, the team was 0-7 in all the other RISP spots. The Nats produced runs from outs on Sacrifice Flies which totaled 3, but Ryan Zimmerman came up again in a key spot with bases loaded and 1 out and hit it well to the warning track for a sacrifice fly. No position players had strikeouts today which was a key in getting back into the game.

The Nationals defense was excellent with 2 runners cut-down at the plate with outfield assists to Jayson Werth and Bryce Harper.

Nats lose 6-5.

For the jolt of reality, when is Mike Rizzo going to make a move? How long can you stick with Gio Gonzalez? How long can Dusty stay with O-fers in the leadoff spot? How long can you go hitless in RISP spots from your 1st baseman? This is what the fanbase wants to know.

Before I pass judgement, I wonder if Gio is heathy. #Nats #Nationals #MLB

— William Ladson (@ladsonbill24) June 25, 2016

Bill Ladson asked Dusty Baker in the postgame presser if Gio had anything wrong physically and Dusty said he did not and expected Gio as of now to make his next start.

In new news, Stephen Strasburg will not pitch tomorrow as he still has soreness. Per Kolko, Tanner Roark will take his place and will be on normal rest due to the day-off on Thursday which allowed this. It is possible that Strasburg goes on the 15-day DL which would get back-dated.

https://twitter.com/masnKolko/status/746849964605718528